A Christian blog covering a wide GAMUT of issues and Scriptures for Godly-living.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Staying in Shape

Yesterday afternoon, I went on
a long, seven-mile run. That may not seem like much to some, but for a
non-marathon person like myself, it is a long haul. I decided to make
myself do it because lately my runs have been no more than four miles at a
time, and I can tell I am getting sluggish in my training.

My husband, Matt, who runs with me, has been doctoring and babying a pretty bad
case of shin splints for the past six weeks or so. Due to this, we
haven't been able to run together much lately. Since I got him running
faithfully with me about a year ago, his running ability has improved
significantly. He now not only surpasses my ability in running, but he
has also become my personal trainer. He outruns me now in both distance
and time; so when I run with him, he pushes me beyond what I typically do on my
own. Since his injury, my training has suffered--I have noticed a
significant change in my ability with both distance and time. It is
remarkable to me how a lack of accountability and support truly affects a
person. When we "go it alone," we typically don't go as far or
do as well.

The pastor of our church remarked about this in one of his summer
sermons. He said, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you
want to go far, go with others." I love that quote, and I have cited
it in another one of my blogs entitled, "Flying Solo." But it
is also relevant here. Whether in life or in running, when we try to
"go the distance" alone, we just don't do as well. In my
particular case with running, I don't go far or fast when I go alone--I
tend to "wuss out" a bit!

So I decided to push myself a lot yesterday and go for a longer run around Lake Shawnee.
I ran the entire lake, which is nearly seven miles. It was
miserable. I missed having Matt up ahead of me--it was seriously
boring. I also made the grave mistake of not checking the weather prior,
and wore fall athletic gear when I actually needed to dress for summer.
By mile number five, I was having severe mucus issues (thanks to fall
allergies), my stomach hurt, and I was sweating profusely from being improperly
prepared with overdressing. By mile number six, I had runner's chills and
severe nausea (which means you're overheated and overstepping your ability).
By mile number seven, my face felt like it was going to explode, my ankles and
knees were throbbing, and my chest was pounding like I weighed 300
pounds. Even though I knew I was over-extending myself, I just kept
pushing due to sheer pride. This past summer, I was able to run the
entire lake many times in the excruciating heat with no problem. Therefore, I
refused to be a wimp yesterday and admit that only six weeks later, I couldn't
do it. I ended the run by vomiting on the side of the trail and creating
quite a spectacle of myself. I have never before done this. So much
for pride! Thankfully, few people were around. It was a harsh wake-up
call that since Matt's injury, I too, have gotten out of shape with long
distance running. I have needed my supporter and trainer to motivate me,
support me, and push me to do better.

This got me thinking about our spiritual training and how similar it is to
training in distance running. When we get lazy with our Bible reading and
prayer life, our spiritual training suffers; thus, our spiritual resiliency
becomes lax. We approach life unprepared and with all the wrong
gear. We are lacking the tools and readiness needed to successfully and
easily handle situations and problems that arise in life. At the end of
trials and testings, we can find ourselves vomiting in defeat instead of rejoicing
with victory.When we try to, "go
it alone" in our spiritual walk, and we don't depend on others to support
us and encourage us, we can get sluggish and dull. We need others to push
us along in life and sharpen us. Even when we think we do, we don't
always do a good job of this on our own. I was faced with this harsh
reality yesterday--that on my own, I don't push myself enough physically.
What is more convicting is the realization that I actually do a better job of
pushing myself physically than I even do spiritually. I sure don't push myself
to read God's Word or pray to the point of total mental exhaustion!
Honestly, I know that I would profit much more from doing that than I did
pushing and straining my body to such harsh physical levels.

Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens
another." I wholeheartedly believe this verse is saying that we are
called to spur each other on to good works and toward successful living in
Christ. We cannot stay in spiritual shape or physical shape when
we aren't training properly and when we are lacking in support and
accountability. We need each other--to encourage each other, to push each
other harder to go farther, and to inspire each other to remain faithfully
active in prayer and in God's Word. Spiritual fitness and physical
fitness both require discipline, rigorous effort, support, and accountability.

Obviously, staying in shape spiritually is much more important than staying in
shape physically--but both are actually somewhat interrelated. If we
don't feel good physically, chances are we are not going to feel that great
mentally or spiritually, either. It is a daily balancing act to maintain
all aspects of our being in order to keep ourselves in overall decent
shape. Thankfully, God is there to nudge us and be the best Trainer and
Supporter we will ever have. He cares very deeply about all the
components of our existence--our spiritual, mental, physical, and even
our emotional well-being. When we know Him personally and try to walk
with Him daily, He has a way of letting us know when some area of our life is
out-of-whack. I praise Him for His gentle reminders and His ever-present
help in all facets of my life. I don't even want to know where I'd be
today if I didn't know Him. Without Him, no part of who I am would be in
decent shape. So today I praise Him for being the best Fitness Pro a girl
could ever have (and please, God, heal Matt's injury quickly before I become a
total slob. I miss my running partner)!

1 Timothy 4:8, "For physical training is of some
value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the
present life and the life to come."

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;you were bought at a
price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but
only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.Everyone who
competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that
will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.Therefore I do not run
like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.No, I strike a blow to my
body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself
will not be disqualified for the prize."